Big Time Horse Racing 2019

Six horse owners get together annually to race their best thoroughbreds – for a little money, but mainly for bragging rights. There are three races and three strict bets. The most money wins.

Unlike similar table-top games, in Big Time the luck element is minimized. Sure, you’ll have a “stable” of horses, but you won’t roll dice and check your horse card to see how far your steed goes. And you won’t spend your time making multiple bets on which horse will win the race, either. What you will do is focus on the race itself, and your share of the purse.

Big Time Horse Racing is a thinking person’s game. The types of horses in a race, the length of the race, post position and how the race will be run are the important factors. On each turn, players will carefully choose a card to play from their hands – but only one card will determine the results which will apply to all the horses on the racetrack. Sometimes you’ll want your card to be chosen, and sometimes you won’t. Sometimes you’ll try to hinder other players instead of helping yourself. Sometimes you’ll benefit all horses of your type, and sometimes you’ll selfishly give yourself a bonus at the expense of those horses.

You’ll also have to decide when to hold your horse back, when to “make your move,” what to do in the turns, and even if you’ll hand the race to an opponent if you can’t finish in the money. There is betting, but it’s limited, and thought will be required here, too – if you want to win the day!

—description from the designer